Matched up against Stars’ best, Canucks’ Miller proves two-way abilities

VANCOUVER – There are a lot of ways to demonstrate how much the Vancouver Canucks have changed – besides looking at the standings and seeing an 8-2-1 team that has matched the best 11-game start in franchise history.

Here’s one way: in Saturday’s 2-0 win against the Dallas Stars, J.T. Miller registered neither a point nor a shot on goal, but played one of his best games as a Canuck because he and linemates Brock Boeser and Phil Di Giuseppe matched up against one of the National Hockey League’s best trios and held Roope Hintz, Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson to a single even-strength shot.

Miller went 17-6 in the faceoff circle while logging 22:20 of ice time, had one hit and one block and generated with Boeser and Di Giuseppe an expected-goals-for share of 73.6 per cent at five-on-five.

And if that isn’t an indication of what the Canucks are becoming under coach Rick Tocchet, then consider this from Miller: “I just told somebody that that might have been the most satisfying win I’ve had as a Canuck. Everybody, head to toe, that was one of the best all-around performances I think we’ve played as a team. The bench was so engaged, the penalty kill was great, the power play was awesome. We just defended like a really good hockey team tonight.

“It’s hard the last couple of years because losing a lot of games creates bad habits. You want to do more, and extend your shifts. Now I just know that we have a good hockey team. Our line talks, like, if we’re on the right side of checks and we keep the (opposition) off the sheet, we have a good chance of winning with the talent we have.”

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Now, think about this a little bit.

Miller is the centre who has been vilified numerous times the last three seasons for his lack of focus – and lack of backchecks. Brock Boeser is the long-lost scorer whose defensive numbers cratered last season and had to prove this fall that he could actually play for Tocchet. And Di Giuseppe is the winger who was stuck in the minors this time last season, at age 29, more than a year removed from his last NHL game and unsure when he would get another chance.

These are the guys who have been the Canucks best two-way line this season, the one Tocchet has used for his toughest matchups since he sent Miller out against Connor McDavid on opening night.

And yet, even with their defensive awakenings and embrace of checking, Miller still has 16 points this season, Boeser 13 and their combined plus/minus is plus-17.

“It’s just a buy-in from the line,” Miller said. “We don’t have to look for offence to get offence. But we have the capabilities and have enough skill and that we create from turnovers and make plays. I’m okay with just going up and down the rink with those guys (Hintz, Pavelski and Robertson) and being on the right side of the checks and eliminating their opportunities.

“I started in New York and we were always a playoff team, a Cup contending team. And I’m there watching guys like Derek Stepan and Ryan Callahan and Derrick Brassard and Brad Richards do the matchups. And I’m like, ‘Man, I want to play in those moments.’

“I just feel like it brings the best out of me. I’m so engaged. They’re not always going to go perfect. We’re playing McDavid and (Leon) Draisaitl (on Monday) and they could score three in five minutes, so anything can happen. But that game tonight, we didn’t do anything flashy as a line, but we just stayed above them, made smart changes and we were dialed in when they were on the ice. It was very simple.”

On the line’s opening shift, in the first minute, Miller backchecked to break up a scoring chance by intercepting Pavelski’s pass, turned quickly with the puck and made a perfect, 100-foot pass to spring Boeser on a breakaway. Boeser, whose 14-shot attempts included a pile of power-play chances, was stopped by Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger. But the sequence was indicative of what was to come.

Eventually, Pius Suter and Elias Pettersson, on a superb setup by Filip Hronek, put pucks past Oettinger and Thatcher Demko won the goaltending duel, making 27 saves for the shutout.

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The Stars were playing their third game in four nights, but had just swept Alberta and won six of their last seven games while scoring 26 goals.

The Canucks’ 2-0 win against a very good team followed Vancouver’s 10-1 win against an atrocious one, the San Jose Sharks.

“I think winning this game 2-0 is a much bigger statement game than a 10-1 win in San Jose,” veteran defenceman Ian Cole said. “How we did it, how we played, how we stuck to it, how we were comfortable in a tight game when it was 0-0 and we didn’t flinch — it’s just a very mature way to handle these games.

“As the season goes, we’re going to grow and mature and find our way and find our game. This is a great win against a very good hockey team. But this is by no means a finished product, right? This is a whole season-long process. There will be times that we play like crap and there’ll be games we lose that we shouldn’t lose; it’s inevitable. But how we maintain our level-headedness and keep plowing through these games, win or lose, is what’s going to determine our success.”

Cole crushed Matt Duchene with a second-period shoulder check, and the Dallas centre did not return. Canuck winger Dakota Joshua, a healthy scratch in San Jose, led the Canucks with seven hits and assisted on Suter’s goal.

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But besides Demko and Pettersson, no one was more essential than Miller on Saturday.

“Listen, Millsy’s an unbelievable hockey player,” Cole said. “He’s got skills, he’s got jam, he skates, he battles, he scores goals, he makes unbelievable passes. He’s absolutely that player.

“Sure, guys want to go (on offence) and they want to score they want to create. But there’s a certain level of sacrifice, being able to say: ‘Hey, I’m going to play a shutdown role tonight to make sure we win the hockey game.’ It’s a really mature attitude to have. It’s about winning.”

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